As Heaven is Wide
by KawaKaze
Summary: (Slight redundancy ahead)(Non-yaoi) Kurama and Hiei had not anticipated that a simple assignment given to them by Koenma would lead to something more serious and more stressful then they could ever imagine.
1. Chapter 1: I Was Strolling Through the W...

Chapter 1: I Was Strolling Through the Woods One…What the Hell is That!?!

            **Crunch!**

            "Ow! Damn it! Why th' hell am I th' one whose always steppin' on shit!?" 

            Tatsu bit her bottom lip, furiously emitting curses left and right as she gracelessly plopped down on the wet ground, lifting her left foot once her bottom was placed firmly upon the soil beneath her. She squinted her eyes heavily, now wishing she had a flashlight handy so that she could inspect her afflicted foot. Why did fate always have a cruel way of making people step on sharp things in bare feet when there was no source of light to be used for injury inspection? 

            The seventeen year old, who was nearly ready to scream in fury for her misfortune, ran her fingers over the rough skin of the sole of her poor, defenseless foot, trying to discern whether or not the skin had been punctured. Her best guess was that a twig, a damn pointy one, had met her appendage, which made perfect sense being as her current surroundings happened to be infested by nothing but trees, rocks, and other things of that sort. Finding no traces of blood amongst the dirt and bits of leaves clinging to her skin, Tatsu released her ankle and hefted herself to her feet once again, wishing that she'd had the sense to put on some shoes before she left the house.

            "Tatsu-san, are you alright?" asked a familiar voice, causing the aforementioned girl to jumped slightly and spin around to face the person standing slightly behind her.

            "Jeez, Miyuki! Are ya tryin' ta give me a heart attack along with a hurt foot? Where'd you suddenly come from anyway? You weren't right behind me when I left the house." Tatsu crossed her bare arms before her chest, one eyebrow tweaked in question and agitation.

            "I wasn't directly behind you, Tatsu-san, but I wasn't far behind either. The only reason I was delayed was because I had to grab a few things, namely this and this." 

            Tatsu blinked as light suddenly flashed before her eyes, blinding her for a split second before the dots dancing before her pupils faded away. The raven-haired girl cast a glare in Miyuki's direction as the light was directed away from her face and off to the side, relieved that at least her friend had enough sense to grab a flashlight before dashing out in to the woods, but annoyed that she hadn't had the common sense not to turn in on right in her face. Tatsu prepared to utter a typical insult of indignation, but stopped herself at seeing Miyuki's apologetic smile…and the wonderously wonderful pair of sneakers that dangled from her fingers. _Score!_ A wide grin spread across the previously pissed face of Tatsu as she snatched the shoes from her companion, taking note that there were socks tucked safely within them. She looked up at the slightly older girl standing opposite of her as she plucked the socks from their safe haven, eyes narrowing slightly.

            "Tell anyone about the dopey grin I had on my face and you die."

            "Yes, I know, Tatsu-san," Miyuki replied, rolling her eyes slightly, by now used to comments of such a manor from her best friend, understanding that Tatsu would never really harm her.

            Tatsu plopped down on her behind again as she began the simple task of pulling on her socks and shoes, muttering in frustration as she tried to un-tie the double knot in her laces, thusly reminding herself that she should un-tie her shoes and then take them off from then on, rather then kicking them off as she normally tended to do. _Double knots, bad!_ Miyuki, in the meantime, glanced about herself, shivering ever so slightly as the chill air agitated her bare arms, causing goosebumps to make an appearance. She was glad that she had brought a flashlight along for their little venture, but it felt to her, being in such a dark, quiet place, that a good can of pepper spray or a baseball bat would be handier. Something about being out in the middle of the woods in the middle of the night, when all to be seen for quite a good distance ahead were shadows, made her feel incredibly uneasy. Then, calling herself paranoid and childish, Miyuki pushed such thoughts aside and silently goaded herself to be more like Tatsu for once. _Good bye caution and hello abandon! Time for a late night nature walk._

            "Ready to keep going now?" Miyuki asked as Tatsu, shoes and all, stood up, brushing off the seat of her by now dirty plaid boxer shorts.

            "Yup. Lets go, Onee-chan," Tatsu replied, smirking at the slightly taller girl as they headed off in to the darkness, flashlight pointed straight ahead the entire way, both intent on exploring the very depths of the woodland.

*           *           *           *           *

Ten agonizing minutes later…

            "Fuck! It's cold!"

            Tatsu's entire body shivered fiercely as her hands rubbed unendingly up and down her arms, her mind making a note to not only untie her shoes before taking them off, but to wear more then just a pair of boxers and a tank top to bed. Miyuki, who was by far the more frail of the pair, nodded in total agreement, easily dismissing the intense swear her 'little sister' so insistently used being a she was used to it, wanting nothing more then to have access to either a jacket or a heater, as if one could really be used without electricity, but that was beside the point. They were both cold as hell, even though hell isn't normally described as cold, and were warranted a little bit of impossible dreaming.

            It had taken them only ten minutes to wander quite far in to the woods behind Miyuki's house. They had become quite tired of stumbling over decaying logs and listening to owls hoot in the treetops above their heads. They were cold, annoyed, a little bit paranoid, and most importantly lost. That's right. Lost. Five minutes in to the trek, neither of the girls could discern where in the woods they were and an extra five minutes of walking and looking hadn't helped them figure that out. It simple made them even more misplaced then they had already been. Tatsu cursed, swore, moaned, and groaned as they walked on, occasionally stopping to slug the trunk of a tree and then growl about her sore knuckles. Miyuki herself was swearing somewhat profusely, though her curses were all mental, and she was trying almost desperately to try and figure out a way back to her home. 

            "This is one of those rare occasions that I actually wouldn't mind running in to someone unfamiliar," Miyuki muttered with a frown set across her face as she pushed her snow-colored bangs out of her eyes.

            "I hear ya. We'd be screwed, though, if it was some kind of psychotic killer type of person," Tatsu replied grumpily. _Royally screwed and physically screwed probably._

            "Never mind. Random person appearing is a bad thing." 

            Miyuki sighed heavily, her steps stopping as she stared somewhat blankly at the ground beneath her feet. Tatsu, a few steps ahead of the white-haired young woman, halted as well, glancing over her shoulder at her best, if not only, friend. Tatsu had never been the emotional, comforting type. It was against her nature to be like that. Miyuki on the other hand was that type of person; weak to an extent, but strong in her own right and highly motivated by her thoughts and emotions. The worry in the older girl's green eyes, the color indiscernible in the dark, but memorized throughout the years, made Tatsu want to comfort her, even if it was against her personality. Her icy blue eyes softened ever so slightly.

            "Don't worry, Onee-san. We may be as lost as a fuckin' virgin in a whore house, but we'll get outta these damned woods eventually."

            That was as far as Tatsu ever got in the sense of being comforting and emotional, but Miyuki was very grateful for the display. Few had ever been granted the chance to see such a thing and she was glad that Tatsu found her close enough to receive the reassurance. 

            Miyuki opened her mouth to say her thanks, but, rather then showing her gratitude, the thing to escape her lips was a slightly cut off scream and a whoosh of air as something heavy collided with her body, sending her on to the ground. Something heavy was upon her and, by the sound of male grunting and heavy breaths; it could only be a man. Miyuki, feeling breath draw close to her shoulder, managed to work her hands to the offender's shoulders, pushing him off of her with as much strength she could muster, which, due to her fear, was quite fair. She had little chance to catch of a glimpse of the attacker's face, especially without a flashlight handy, as it had been knocked from her grasp, because Tatsu, immediately taking action, slammed a heavy piece of decaying log in to the side of his head. 

            The raven-haired girl's idea had been to plow the 'freaky rapist man' off of her friend. What she hadn't expected was that his head would completely detach from the rest of him and go flying through the air. The two stayed glued to their current positions, eyes wider then tea saucers as they watched the head land on the ground with a resounding thump and a squish. Tatsu, thoroughly freaked out by then, dropped the log she had been wielding and quickly, eyes still trained on the opposing head, pushed the prone body off of Miyuki with her foot. Miyuki, still a little dazed, sat on the ground in shock and did not move until the body, which had been pushed to the ground beside her, began to move. She screamed loudly and jumped to her feet, grapping Tatsu's wrist and pulling her a few feet away, pointing at the struggling, headless body as it shuffled to it's feet. Tatsu was too busy swearing in surprise and pointing at the head, which by now was emitting loud moans. 

            "W-what th' fuck is that thing?! A zombie?!"

            "Uhmm…Tatsu-san…" Miyuki whispered meekly, poking the girl's shoulder repeatedly.

            "What?!"

            "I think you're right about the zombie thing."

            Tatsu's eyes followed the direction in which Miyuki's finger was pointed, her pupils shrinking to the size of pins as she stared at the rather large horde of decaying people as they approached them, seeming to have appeared from out of no where and coming at them at a rate that seemed rather speedy for zombies, who had always been depicted as slow in most films. The two girls squeaked in shock, fear, and disbelief before Tatsu took charge, grabbing Miyuki's hand and running away like the end of the world was at her heels, the two daring not to stumble as they rushed away, the strange, unexpected legion of undead moaners following after them.

            "YOU'LL NEVER CATCH US, MOTHER FUCKAS!!!"

*          *          *          *          *

            "This is pathetic," stated Hiei in obvious, and very thorough, agitation, arms crossed before his chest.

            "Pathetic or not, Hiei, Koenma sent us on this assignment and we must complete it. Aside from that, it's a shame how many innocent people have been killed by those stray souls," Kurama replied, blood red hair billowing in the slight breeze as he stood beside his shorter companion, both taking safe haven in a well hidden treetop.

            "That concerns me very little. Let's just get this over with before my patience wears thin."

            "That seems to happen often," Kurama said more to himself then to Hiei, a knowing smile gracing his lips.

            Hiei did hear the remark, but shrugged it off as he always did. The two stood in complete silence, listening to the sounds of leafs brushing together as they were pushed around in the breeze. Neither really knew exactly what to look for since Koenma had been anything, but discreet when he supplied them with information regarding their assignment. All the two of them really knew was that something was causing a disturbance within these woods, something that had brought much unexpected death and a hellva lot of paper work for Koenma. 

            Normally Yuusuke would have been entrusted with taking on their appointed task, but considering that the strange events taking place were happening outside of Tokyo and the aforementioned young man could not afford to miss anymore school nor could he stand anymore lectures from his teachers, they had been given the job. Hiei, of coarse, found the idea highly annoying and truly desired nothing more then to march out of Ningenkai and say, "Screw this!" Luckily for the people endangered by the strange occurrences, Kurama had managed to persuade him to complete the mission, though not without a lot of grumbling. _Isn't teamwork grand?_

            Eventually, as fate would have it, the two began to feel frustrated at finding no sign of disturbance and wondered if they would have to wait until the next evening until something happened. But then…

            "YOU'LL NEVER CATCH US, MOTHER FUCKAS!!!!"

            "Well, I hadn't been expecting that, but at least we know which way to go now."

            "Let's just get this over with."

*           *           *           *           *

            "We'regonnadie! We'regonnadie! We'regonnadie!" Tatsu and Miyuki chanted as they continued running away from their would-be murderers.

            After several minutes of rushing way for the sake of their lives, the two found themselves fueled on by adrenalin, but slowly lagging due to the fact that weariness from such strain was kicking in. If they didn't find some way out of their current situation, fatality would be the only thing left for them. Miyuki clutched her pained sides as she ran beside Tatsu, breathing heavily as a throbbing sensation burned within her legs and stomach. Tatsu was in practically the same shape, however able to shrug it off due to her determination to stay alive. 

            With a flashlight no longer in their possession, the two ran blindly through the dark, unable to see very far ahead of them. It was this fact that made them unable to see the fairly steep incline in the ground before them and it went unnoticed until the two of them came upon it's edge, both losing their footing and rolling down the hill, both making shouts of surprise. Tatsu stood first after they had stopped tumbling, rubbing the sore shoulder that she had landed on when she finally halted, grimacing slightly. Miyuki brushed leaves and twigs off of her form as she stood to her feet soon after, arms wrapped around her mid-section as she tried to ride out the pain burning within that area. 

            "Damn…this has been one screwed up night…" Miyuki said through slightly gritted teeth, taking many deep breaths, which had been lost on her only a few moments before.

            "If we weren't on the verge of getting killed, I'd hug you and beam with pride," Tatsu muttered back at the girl behind her, blue eyes slightly humored at the sound of her best buddy being vulgar for once.

            "Yeah. We can worry about that later. Let's just try to get out of here now." 

            Tatsu nodded and the two looked forward, starting off in a mad dash again only to stop in their tracks, eyes widening in fright at the sight of even more zombies standing in their path. Miyuki grabbed Tatsu's hand and started pulling her in the direction they had been coming from, only to see the crowd that had been following them before approaching from that direction. They looked left and right, finding a wall of living dead in a complete circle around them, blocking off all chances of escape. The only option they really had left was to try and fight to stay alive. Tatsu growled in anger, reaching down and wrapping her fingers around a large, fallen tree limb, holding it before her as if to use it as a bokuto. She turned away from the path they had come from, eyes glaring down at the new batch of attackers that had appeared in the direction they had been heading. Miyuki grabbed a limb as well, following her best friend's lead and wielding it aggressively. She knelt down to pick up a large rock that sat beside her, gripping it within her fist before hurtling it at a random zombie, resisting the urge to cheer as it smacked the apparently male creature right between the eyes, knocking him off of his feet and knocking off his head.

            "Damn! Good one!" Tatsu said with pride in her voice as she and Miyuki stood back to back, ready to at least die fighting. 

            There was a moment of silence before several of the girls' opponents rushed at them from all sides, intent on getting their meal. The two braced themselves, hands shaking as they waited for the inevitable. Death never came. Before the offenders could even reach either girl, they all fell to the ground, body parts flying away from their forms as if cut away by some unseen force. 

            "What the…" 

            Tatsu blinked, lowering her makeshift sword as she took notice of the tall young man standing a few feet before her, wondering just who he was. His hair, as crimson as blood, billowed down his back as he stood before her, a strange form of whip in his hand, it's length curled up at the ground. He seemed to suddenly take notice of her presence and turned his head, looking over his shoulder to see her. He smiled softly, revealing his brilliant green eyes and handsome face. His eyes nearly startled her for, even in the dark, she could clearly see their color, which seemed to glow, even more so then Miyuki's did at times. Who was he?

            "Who the fuck are you?" she snapped, coming out of her sudden hazy revere. The stranger, rather then showing offense to her remark, simple chuckled and shook his head, turning away from her and raising the strange whip he held in his hand, as if preparing to attack.

            Sure enough, as Tatsu had predicted, the red-haired man thusly snapped his whip, the one lone movement proving to disable several zombies all at once by way of detaching many of their limbs. _Pop goes the zombie._ Tatsu grinned slightly as the stranger began to take apart any decaying corpse that came at him, showing no signs of apparent struggle as he did so. He was rather impressive…for a girly looking guy. (Tatsu's perspective, not ours. Please don't kill us! ^^;;) 

            "I wonder who he is," Miyuki wondered aloud as she stepped behind her comrade in arms, as if big sticks could really be considered arms, eyes full of inquiry. 

            "I have no fuckin' idea…" Tatsu muttered, scratching her temple with one finger as people often tended to do when in a state of confusion. 

            The duo suddenly became stiff and wide-eyed as the sound of a loud, choked groan filled their ears, resonating from directly behind them. The two spun around and let out squeaks of shock as they glanced at the tall, burly dead man that stood behind them, one of his pale, dirty hands extended, making it obvious that he had been reaching for Miyuki. Something, however, had apparently stopped him, for he made no move to grab her. Both girls jumped slightly as the corpse fell to the ground at their feet, cut completely in half by a clean slice through his mid-section. As the body parts fell away from their vision, the two caught sight of another strange man, this one standing a head or two shorter then the first, adorned in all black, and wielding a sword that somehow glinted, even in the darkness. He brought his sword down to his side, one eyebrow arching over cold, crimson eyes, his expression showing little concern for the two of them, even though he had just saved Miyuki. He seemed annoyed with their presence. Tatsu had been the only really close friend Miyuki had ever known and the raven-haired girl was known for being rather cold in demeanor, but even Tatsu's frosty personality could not compare to the darkness the black clad man held all around him. It was intimidating to an extent and even a bit unnerving, but, for some reason, Miyuki felt…remorseful when she looked upon him, her eyes softening.

            "Save your thanks," he said darkly as he watched Miyuki's lips part, knowing just what she intended to say. "Just stay out of my way, both of you." And with that, he turned away, rushing at the approaching horde of zombies, sword drawn and ready to disembowel.

            "Jeez…what an ass…" Tatsu said, lips drawn back in a deeply agitated frown as Miyuki slapped her forehead and muttered to herself. 

Kurama turned to Hiei with a look that said, " That was easy enough, " and then smiled at the two girls. " How did you two find yourselves in such a place? " He asked politely and Miyuki opened her mouth to respond, but Tatsu beat her to the punch. 

"We got fuckin' lost ya dumb ass, whaddya think?" The black haired girl snapped and Hiei gave her a surprised look, one eyebrow arching before he look at Kurama, expression basically stating, " I don't like this one already. " 

"We were walking in the woods and got off track. Would you be kind enough to help us back to my house if it isn't too much trouble? " Miyuki asked nicely and Hiei huffed, not wanting to take time off to walk two little girls back home. 

"Why sure. It would be no problem at all, right Hiei? " The shorter man twitched at the sound of the always gentlemanly Kurama selling them out. 

"We don't need any body to walk us home Miyuki, especially not two idiotic men. " 

"These two _idiotic men_ as you put us just saved your lives you ungrateful little—"

"Hiei! "

"Tatsu!" Both black haired people froze, glaring at their companions before glaring at each other once more, but staying silent and backing back towards their comrades.

" If you let us, we would like to make sure you get home safely, I'm not sure if we've gotten rid of all these creatures yet.  " Miyuki nodded and bowed to him in appreciation, while Tatsu just grumbled. 

*           *           *           *           

            "Its Miyuki and Tatsu correct? "  Kurama asked and Miyuki nodded.

            "And you're Kurama-san and Hiei-san. I hope I can remember that. " The white haired girl bit her bottom lip in worry and Tatsu snorted in a very unladylike fashion. They had been walking through the woods for an access of 12 minutes already, not surprising since they had ran with superfluous speed in the opposite direction of Miyuki's residence. 

            "Its nice to make your acquaintance Miyuki-chan. " Kurama put out his hand which Miyuki took and then lifted to his lips. He turned to Tatsu who calmly socked him one right in the face. 

            "Mother fucka tryin' to make a goddamned move on me, you fuckin' lecher. " Tatsu grumbled as the red haired man held his nose in pain. Miyuki blinked widely a few times but finally sighed and apologized to poor Kurama. 

_"What is wrong with that girl?_ Kurama thought to himself, watching her walking ahead of everyone else. He looked over at Hiei with a look of confusion, still rubbing his nose, but the shorter man was as emotionless as usual. The shout of joy from in front of him drew his eyes up to Tatsu once more. 

" THERE'S THA FUCKIN' HOUSE! GOD FUCKIN' DAMN!! " Tatsu was so overcome with happiness she could barely put out the normal curses. Miyuki squealed lightly, running to catch up with her shorter friend but froze at the sight Tatsu failed to see. The house and yard was squirming with even more zombies then before and on the roof stood one that looked less putrefying and more like "one crazy son of a bitch" in Tatsu's eyes. Hiei raised his eyebrow and drew his sword. 

_Why would they be here?_ He calmly walked forward, past the two girls and took a rock from the ground, chucking it up at the zombie-thing on the roof. It struck him square in the temple fairly hard, but instead of sending his head flying, like most zombies, it was simply absorbed into his body. The man (I shall no longer call him a zombie cuz' he sure as hell ain't) turned and grinned at Hiei, his red eyes flashing. 

" Well hello Hiei, Kurama, girls. How nice of you to come.  " He leaped off the roof and landed a few feet away from the group. Miyuki gripped her "little sister's" arm slightly, her eyebrows creasing in worry, the said tomboy meanwhile stiffening and balling her fist in apprehension. The man bowed as the zombies shuffled around him, moaning their anticipation. " We've been waiting for you. My friends… " He turned to his army and all their eyes (err…sockets) began to glow, "have fun." 

The only thing that crossed their minds at that time was. 

Oh…shit… 

_TBC_

Sami: Muahahaha! Was it interesting enough for you all? Zombies! Zombies everywhere! They want to eat your brains!

Utena: No more Return of the Living Dead for you. 

Sami: *Pout* All righty, readers. It's review and flame time! We want reviews! Give us reviews! We ain't postin' chapter 2 until we get at least five reviews and that's that. *Flashes everyone puppy dog eyes* Please review. 

Kurama: Perhaps you would have a greater chance of getting reviews if you were less…eccentric about asking for them.

Sami: Are ya callin' me crazy?!

Kurama: Er…

Hiei: Yes, he is. You are both insane.

Utena: As if we didn't already know that, Hiei-san.

Hiei: *Glare* If you dare make our fight scenes corny, I'll sharpen my sword with your flesh.

Sami: Is that possible?

Utena: *Shrug* I don't know.

Kurama: With Hiei, it probably is.

Hiei: *Mutters about obsessive fangirls and their annoying habits*

Dictionary:

Onee-san: Big/older sister

Imouto-chan: Little/younger sister

Bokuto: A wooden sword, often used for practicing Kendo.


	2. Chapter 2: Pushing Up Zombies

Chapter 2: Pushin' Up Zombies

            "_So these are the two daughters_," the stranger with scarlet eyes thought to himself, eyes slowly taking in the appearance of the teenage women before him. "_I wonder if they will prove to be the weak humans that they are…or something more._"

            Miyuki felt her body quiver, both from cold and the pair of haunting eyes trained upon Tatsu and herself. The expression set upon the face of their strange foe was somewhat sardonic and absolutely off-putting, the way his lips curled in to a devious grin proving to be very distressing. Even though he did not touch her nor had he spoken any words that could be considered truly offensive, the way his eyes bore in to her made the pallid-haired girl feel violated and dirty, as if his hands truly had been upon her. He seemed to be measuring the both of them up, as if testing them for their strength and expecting the both of them to prove weakness. What right did he have to judge the both of them without knowing anything about them what so ever? Miyuki felt infuriated by this man, more so then any other person had ever made her feel, and, even though he did frighten her to an extent, she would not give him the pleasure of seeing her fear. She frowned deeply and held her head high, emerald eyes coming to life with a challenging spark of determination. For the first time ever, Miyuki did not feel timid. She felt strong and damn well ready to dish out a good pounding if need be. 

            Miyuki's sudden change in demeanor only seemed to amuse the unfamiliar man, for he threw back his head and laughed loudly, his body shaking with mirth.

            "And here I thought that the only one with guts would be the brutish tomboy. It seems that both of you have a spark of determination in you. How very surprising."

            "I'll show ya a brutish tomboy, ya…"

            Tatsu swore with more venom and abandon then even Miyuki had ever heard, emitting a long stream of curses that could very well have made a prison guard blush and cover their ears. Hiei and Kurama, having only had a taste of Tatsu's vulgarity, were rather shocked by the obscenities the raven-haired girl had managed to utter. Was it even possible for one so young to have ever heard such language before? Even the rarely off guard Hiei found his eyes progressively widening several sizes. By the time Tatsu had nearly finished saying what their enemy was and what she intended to do to him, every undead being standing had stopped moaning, as if even their unfunctioning brains could comprehend her words. 

            "…with an old hobo's half-empty bottle of booze shoved up yer ass!!"

            Tatsu finally finished her angry rant, shaking a fist vengefully and letting out many a heavy breath as she bared her teeth threateningly at the decaying army and their leader. Silence fell as the girl tried to regain all the oxygen she had expended, even cricket chirps halting as her words sunk in. Miyuki's head was all, but spinning due to her amazement and the two members of the Reikai Tantei were still trying to recover from their shock. If it was possible they had just heard every swear word known to all of man and demon kind. Tatsu grinned as she regained her breath, presuming that the silence she heard about her meant that her point had been made, her lips then pulling back in to a frown as the dark man simply begin to laugh once again. He closed his eyes while peels of laughter overtook him, pointing one finger directly at the group standing opposite of him, making no attempt to stop laughing.

            "Kill the men, but do not touch the girls. I'll need them later."

            The zombies were on them in seconds. Having little time to react, Hiei did all that he could to snap Tatsu and Miyuki out of their slight daze, pushing the shorter girl in to the taller one, thusly causing them to stumble several steps before falling out of harm's way. Kurama quickly joined Hiei in battle, both slashing and defending themselves as well as they could against the large number of mindless drones attacking them. 

            "Stop wasting time and get the hell out of here!" rang out Hiei's voice amongst the battle shouts and slightly disembodied moans.

            Miyuki was first to her feet, her fingers firmly gripping Tatsu's wrist as she thusly hefted the younger girl to her feet, dragging her away from the battle as quickly as she could. Tatsu dug her heels in to the ground, wriggling her wrist free of Miyuki's grasp, glaring at her friend with agitated eyes as she was looked back at. 

            "What th' hell are ya doin'!? I don't give a flaming damn about those two, but we can't just leave 'em! I ain't gonna just chicken out and run off like some wussy little…"

            "Please shut the hell up, Tatsu-san!" Miyuki commanded, startling the slightly over-bearing girl a little with the firmness of her voice.

            Tatsu watched in confusion as Miyuki knelt to the ground, fingers reaching in to her left sock for something. She seemed to find what she was looking for near the general vicinity of her ankle, fingers gripping around a small, unknown object. Fingers retreated from the confines of white cotton as Miyuki stood again, grinning slightly as she dangled a small set of keys before Tatsu's eyes. Her drift was caught rather quickly.

            "All right! Zombie ass-whoopin' time!"

*           *           *           *           *

            (AN: It is recommended if you listen to either _The Can Can_ or _I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major General _while reading this section of the fic for the purpose of intensified reading enjoyment. ^^ You'll see what I mean.)

            Kurama grunted as he snapped his whip quickly and skillfully, beginning to feel somewhat weary with strain from having to fight so furiously. In his head he began to make a list of the pros and cons of fighting zombies. Zombies were fairly strong in the sense of physical strength, which presented some difficulty, but had very fragile bodies. They could easily be pulled apart by a sword, whip, or random blunt object, which was good at the time, but would mean hell if fists were all that could be used. What they lacked in intelligence they made up in numbers. Kill one that hadn't enough knowledge to dodge the slice of a blade and several more would be right behind it. They didn't utter boisterous, self-confidant nonsense, but their unending moans could grate on ones nerves faster then Superman gets weak under the influence of kryptonite. 

            "They just don't stop coming!" Kurama shouted over the din of groans and falling bodies, cleaving the head of one zombie clear from its body with a simple flick of his wrist and whip.

            "They have to dwindle at some point!" Hiei shouted back, slicing away at walking corpse after walking corpse, teeth gritted with effort and slight fatigue. "Just keep fighting!"

            Hiei, being the very aware and alert fighter that he is, had a sudden warning of overhead attack and threw his neck back, staring upward. He jumped backwards only seconds before a body fell from the sky and landed on the ground where he had been standing with a loud crack and a thump, several parts of the corpse's body detaching and bouncing a few feet away from the whole. Kurama, having noticed this as he defended himself, threw Hiei a confused look before turning his eyes back on his numerous adversaries, Hiei doing the same. Both had expressions of total and utter bewilderment on their faces.

            "What the hell was that?!" Hiei shouted, not really expecting his companion to have an answer, but still hoping for one anyway.

            "Do you hear that?" Kurama asked, ignoring the question that had been asked of him. 

            The two of them strained their ears, managing to catch a few definitive sounds over the groans of the zombie oppressors. They heard a car or truck engine running, tires roaming speedily over upturning earth, and…voices furiously belting out _The Can Can _with a lot of gusto.

            "DA NA! NA NA NA NA **NA NA! NA NA NA NA **NA NA**! NA NA NA NA! **NANANANANA**!!!" sang Miyuki and Tatsu as they drove Miyuki's father's SUV over zombie after zombie after unsuspecting zombie.**

            It was lucky for the two girls that Miyuki's father did not have a place of work very far from where they now stood…er…drove, otherwise they wouldn't have the now quite handy chili-pepper red sport utility at their disposal. Having a closely located job meant that Miyuki's father preferred walking to and from work, which was right then a huge blessing. Tatsu, who had insisted on driving, grinned rather maliciously as she sent large numbers of decaying bodies flying this way and that, head banging to the beat of what she now deemed as "Tatsu and Miyuki's Zombie Killing War BGM." Miyuki, though rather much enjoying the slight edge the two of them had in the fight, held on for dear life as Tatsu drove madly back and forth through the thankfully wide back yard, thankful for the invention of seatbelts and airbags. 

            "Where's that stuck-up leader bastard?! I've got a front bumper with his name written all over it!"

            "_Oh crap…Tatsu-san's becoming a little crazed. I knew I shouldn't have let her drive_," Miyuki thought to herself as her fingers tightened around the safety grip, also known by many as an "Oh shit!" bar. 

            As Miyuki prayed for secure seat belts/auto insurance, Tatsu's mind sung with thoughts of **BAM! BAM! BAMITY! BAM!** The particular 'arrogant zombie slave owner' that Tatsu had dreams of running over by then had taken a wise and safe haven upon the roof of Miyuki's home, thusly being saved from the horrors of being introduced to 'Mr. Goodyear.' He found the entire situation quite amusing to say the least, somewhat glad that the Reikai Tantei were managing to hold out longer then anticipated. He always enjoyed a good show. If they managed to survive the fight then maybe he'd allow them the gift of receiving quick, torture-less deaths. The two young women, however…their fates had already been sealed.

            **SLAM!**

            Tatsu and Miyuki both slid out of the bright red vehicle, both silently thanking seatbelts, but cursing air bags that didn't know when to work. Tatsu had been so caught up in creating road kill, or perhaps road re-kill, that she hadn't really been focusing on the fact that she was driving towards a tree. She was so caught up in crushing a particularly resilient zombie that Miyuki's warning scream of "Hit the brakes!" was what brought her immediately out of her moment of slightly psychotic grandeur. She did indeed manage to hit the brakes, but it did not stop them from crashing in to the offending tree. It only proved to make the collision less then what it could have been and lowered the chances of the two girls having any injuries. The most that they suffered consisted of slightly shaky legs and the fearful thought of how pissed Miyuki's father would be at the sight of his damaged jeep. 

            A hand fisted in to the fabric of Tatsu's shirt as she stood, trying to regain her composure, startling her slightly as she felt herself slammed roughly against the side of the automobile, a pair of angry red eyes glaring up in to her own.

            "I told you both to leave here and this what you do! How incredibly stupid are you, girl!" Hiei all but growled, his non-fabric containing hand clenching angrily around the sword he always carried with him.

            Miyuki's eyes widened at the spectacle and she dashed around the vehicle, hands grabbing on to the dark-haired man's wrist, attempting to pull it back from where it held Tatsu against the side of the jeep. Hiei's eyes darted towards her, but he did not release his offensive grip on Tatsu.

            "Please let her go, Hiei-san. I'm the one who thought of using Papa's jeep, not her. Be angry at me if you have to be angry with anyone."

            Hiei barely showed any sign of being affected by her pleading expression, save for making a grudging noise in the back of his throat and letting Tatsu's shirt front go, taking a few steps away from both girls. Tatsu glared at the slightly short man as she smoothed out the wrinkles he had made to appear, resisting the urge to beat him up for his behavior due to the hand Miyuki had placed upon her shoulder. Kurama, at that time, chose to join them beside the wrecked transportation device (Gyah…crappy word choice…), looking at Hiei with an unreadable expression. It seemed almost scolding to an extent and Hiei chose to ignore it with a simple turn of his head. 

            The group had no worry at that moment of fighting off anymore undead adversaries. Not a single zombie could stand at that moment. They had all, after much struggle, been either decapitated or knocked through the air. Body parts littered the ground and the few corpses that were still fairly intact were so terribly mangled that it was all but impossible for any useful movement to be made. It seemed as though they had managed to win a battle that, for normal people, would have been impossible to survive. It was a good thing, especially for Tatsu and Miyuki, that Kurama and Hiei were far from what many would call normal. 

            "Impressive indeed."

            All heads, at least those that were securely attached to their bodies, turned towards the voice which not surprisingly belonged to the leader of the undead militia. He stood proud and tall upon the roof of Miyuki's home, arms crossed before his chest as the full moon beamed in the sky behind him, giving him an almost superior look. Hiei and Kurama readied their respective weapons, eyes turning cold and hard at the sight of this still un-nameable foe. Tatsu and Miyuki, though weaponless now that their 'war chariot' was trashed, glared up at him with unwavering determination, obviously expecting more fighting and showing that they would help in some way. 

            "You managed to survive. I'm quite surprised, but I suppose I should try not to be. After all, the great Kurama and Hiei would by no chance be able to fall at the hands of a few zombies, now would they?" His tone of voice as he spoke held more sarcasm as opposed to respect or admiration, which only proved to make his self-assured attitude even more agitating. 

            "Cut the bullshit, buddy!" Tatsu shouted, her brows drawn together in pure anger and frustration. "Who th' hell are ya and what'd ya mean when ya said ya'd need me an' Miyuki later?! Ya'd better damn well answer me too, or I'll kick yer ass from here ta Tokyo!"

            "So you said before, Tatsu," he replied smoothly, grinning down at the fiery young brunette.

            "And how th' hell do ya know our names?!"

            "All good questions, which I'm sure that your new friends will want to know the answers to as well and they will all be answered in due time. However, since you seem so desperate to know, I shall at least humor you with my name. I am called Marionette."

            "Well, now that the introductions are over, now you can give us the rest of the information we want, unless, of coarse, you would like to give it to us the hard way," Kurama said coolly, thusly snapping his whip in a threatening manor before letting it rest at his side once again.

            "_Hehehe…So th' pretty boy does have a little spunk_…" Tatsu thought, holding back a grin, eyes darting in Kurama's direction for a brief instant before they turned back on Marionette. 

            "As I said, my friend, all in due time. You shall get your answers when I feel ready to give them."

            "This isn't some game! We asked for answers and we want them now!" Miyuki demanded, eyes smoldering in fury at the casual way that their unwelcome opponent dealt with their questions.

            "Now, I'm afraid, dear Miyuki it is too soon. I like to bide my time and this is by far the most entertainment I've had in many, many years. When we meet again I shall consider giving you another hint as to what my goals are. Until then I suggest you stay out of the woods. So long."

            Marionette turned away from them then, waving over his shoulder at the four confused individuals before he vanished completely from their sight, as if he hadn't even been there in the first place. There was silence for several long, agonizing moments before Tatsu finally spoke.

            "Uhm…what now?"

End of Chapter 2

End of Chapter Special!! Aino Utena and ChibiSamiSala's Crazy, Abnormal, and Altogether Pointless Yu Yu Hakusho Theories!

Theory Number 1: The Secret Spot

            While speaking with Sami on the phone one day our conversation, which had at the time been focused on this fic and what to do at certain points, took an interesting turn. For reasons that I cannot remember, the conversation suddenly began to focus on the hair of the resident Yu Yu Hakusho men and the possibility of…ehehe…relation between their hair styles and the way their…er…privates behave. That translated from vague Utena language to plain English means that we both think that if the hair acts a certain way, then the wang acts the same. Here are our examples on the matter.

Hiei: Always upright and gravity defying: If the hair is up there then so is the Hiei Staff.

Kurama: Needs constant grooming and tending to: Come on. Do you really think that his hair is the only thing that needs to be in perfect condition?

Yuusuke: Must be held back when in public: ……*just laughs*

Kuwabara: It's just kinda…there… We could have said that it curls, but…no…not possible…*cringe*

Koenma: Can't be seen until he gets bigger: As you all know Koenma's hair is hidden by his hat when in toddler form, but when he becomes a teenager you can suddenly see his pretty hair…this reference was just too damn priceless and it came out of my mouth automatically.

   Well folks, that's our pointless theory for this chapter. I'll bet you fear the next one, huh? Well, Chapter 3 is on the way, but we aren't posting it until we get reviews. We were lenient this time around, but we need reviews to keep us going. Please review. 


	3. Chapter 3: I Call Dibs On the Bathroom!

Chapter 3: I Call Dibs on the Bathroom!

            There is a rather widespread rumor that states the belief that a person's personality can determine their sleeping habits. For the sake of having an example or two, let's look at Tatsu and Miyuki. Tatsu has always been the type of girl to be rough, tough, and uncoordinated. She does what she wants when she wants to and takes crap from absolutely no one. She relies on brawn over brain and, because of this, often gets herself in to heap after heap of trouble. Miyuki is her exact polar opposite, being kind, polite, and just a tad bit timid. She likes to assist others and shows great self-control in the anger department, though she very well has been known to become a verifiable demon when angered strongly. She thinks rationally, coming up with quick plans and ideas that can be helpful, but are…often ignored.

            The two aforementioned young women are as different as night and day. Their many difference also make an appearance as the two sleep, making it fairly easy to pick apart demeanor and personality type just by glancing at their sleeping forms. Or…at least that's what Kurama and Hiei thought at the particular moment. Kurama, being the gentleman that he is, didn't mind giving his new female acquaintances use of his spare bedroom in the least. After the incident with Marionette and, considering Miyuki's home seemed unsafe after the battle that took place around it, it would only be wise to allow the rather confused pair to stay with Hiei and himself in the quaint little apartment he had rented for the stay outside of Tokyo. He was a nice guy. What harm could it be to keep a few extra bodies under his temporary room?

            Hiei wanted to laugh at the sight before him. Infact, the somewhat vertically challenged (Hiei: I'm killing you for calling me that later, Utena.  Utena: Eep.) fire demon had to bite the inside of his mouth to keep from smirking. He had rarely been known to loose his stony composure and he had no intent of allowing himself a few moments of amused laughter. He'd damn well like to, though. Tatsu and Miyuki hadn't really minded sharing the guest bed. They were both fairly small in build and the bed was large enough to comfortably accommodate the both of them. That proved no problem at all. Miyuki was sleeping quiet peacefully, curled up on her side, breathing soft even breaths, the air around her calm and tranquil. Tatsu on the other hand must have been fighting zombies in her sleep. The raven-haired girl lay sprawled out on her back, arms flung over her head, one foot hanging off the edge of the bed, blankets tangled around her legs and torso. How the two of them could share a bed and not have trouble catching any sleep was totally beyond Kurama and Hiei.

            "Maybe it would be best if we woke them now. We do have a lot to do today and it would be best if we got an early start."

            "Hn. **You** can try to wake them up. I'm not risking a bloody nose so early in the morning," Hiei said casually, leaning against the wall with an aura of indifference all about him.

            "I should have known that you would say that." 

            Kurama sighed and rubbed his left cheek, winching very slightly at the forming bruise that was making it's appearance there. He had figured that Miyuki would be easiest to wake up and thusly made the mistake of shaking the sleeping girl in an attempt to rouse her. All that had gotten him was a swift slap to the face, a sleepy murmur, and a still snoozing Miyuki rolling over on to her side. For someone who seemed so gentle, she packed one hellva good slap, unconscious or not. (Reminds ya of Keiko, doesn't it?) Considering the treatment he'd received from the more timid girl, he could only image what Tatsu would do to him in her state of unawareness. The scarlet-haired man rubbed the space between his eyes for a moment, sighing deeply as he thought of a game plan that didn't involve some form of injury.

            "Hn." Hiei growled in annoyance at his friend, brows drawing together as he glared at the two sleeping in bed, before his eyes closed again, face turned in the opposite direction of the young women. "All right! Wake up, wenches! We don't have all day to waste waiting for the two of you to get extra beauty sleep!"

            "_Smooth, Hiei. Very smooth._" Unison moans of protest followed the loud demands of an impatient Hiei, accompanied by some stretching, yawning, and a slowly upright Miyuki. "_Smooth…but effective._"

            "Good morning, Kurama-san, Hiei-san," Miyuki muttered, trying to be polite, but unable to hide the annoyance in her voice and on her face, glaring at the deadly pair pointedly before focusing her attention on rubbing her still heavy eyelids.

            "Huh? Whazzat?"

            Tatsu sat up quiet quickly, eyes half-lidded as her head darted back and forth in a half-frantic manor, her brain filled with many a fuzzy thought. Everyone went completely silent, three sets of eyes going wide with shock, gazes fixing on the unknowing Tatsu as she muttered incomprehensible questions. Hiei tweaked one eyebrow, teeth gritting in agitation while both Kurama and Miyuki blushed deeply at the sight before them. Tatsu obviously didn't realize that her somewhat baggy tank top had shifted to the side during the night, which left her chest visible for all to see. Kurama began to stutter, trying to form a solid sentence. Hiei turned his head away, muttering about stupid, indecent ningen women. 

            "T-Tatsu-san…" Miyuki said in a shaky voice, one eye twitching as the sleep-befuddled girl's blue-eyed gaze turned to her.

            "Hm? Whaizit?" Tatsu looked down slightly, noting how Miyuki was rapidly indicating to her own chest, hoping that her best friend would catch the meaning of the gestures. "Yeah. So you have breasts? So what? They're there. They may be small, but they're there."

            "Thanks for reminding me," Miyuki grumbled, arms crossing protectively before her previously indicated breasts, annoyed at being reminded of their unimpressive size.

            "Whatcha all red fer, Pretty Boy? Ya look like ya just walked in on yer mama taking a shower." Tatsu asked, gaze turning to a still stuttering, beat red Kurama.

            And then it suddenly clicked. Tatsu glanced downward, finally seeing that her…fairly large proportions were bared for all in the room to see. Rather then immediately kill the nearest person or living thing, as was her typical reaction to such an event, Tatsu reacted how almost any girl would when stuck in such a situation. She righted her shirtfront, crossed her arms, and screaming loudly.

            "Ya fuckin' perverts! Ya saw my Alps! Ya saw my mother fuckin' Alps!" 

            Tatsu jumped out of bed, tripping for a second due to the sheets wrapped around her legs, before rushing out of the room, furiously cursing Kurama and Hiei, shouting promises of torture that involved much eye bludgeoning and a hellva lot of hot wax. Miyuki recovered quickly from the strange event and even stranger analogy her friend had used to describe her assets, sliding out from under the blankets to follow the very enraged girl out of the room and hopefully offer some reassurance. Kurama blinked several times, taking a deep breath as he tried to whip the image of Tatsu's undress out of his mind. Hiei, with a look of emotionless indifference, then said in a dull, simple voice…

            "Hn…It must be winter in the Alps."

*           *           *           *           *

            "Stupid men, seein' my Alps! I should kill um. No. I'll rip off their testes first, and then kill them, by hanging them by them. Mwahahahah… " Miyuki could hear the grumbling from the back room as she dialed the number to her home. She hadn't the time to leave a note at her house thanks to Hiei's impatience. After all the zombie killing, er, re-killing, she had been too tired to call when they finally got to the apartment. 

            "_Dad's gonna kill me for this…. and that's before he sees the car…." _Miyuki thought, biting her lower lip as the phone rang five consecutive times before the message machine picked up. 

            "Hello, this is the Furikomu residence. We cannot pick up at the time, please leave a message, your name and phone number and we'll call you back. Thank you. " The teen blinked in surprise, wondering why her father wasn't home. 

            "Hello dad. This is Miyuki, Tatsu and I am over at a…. friend's house and won't be back till later. Don't be afraid, I'm fine and I'll call you every day so you won't get worried. Love ya and Good-bye. " She hung up, hoping that her father would get that before he rushed around looking for her. 

            "Whazz up with tha long face, Miyuki? You okay? " Tatsu stuck her head out into the hallway, before sliding up and resting an arm on the older girl's shoulder, staring at the phone for a while before Miyuki realized that she was staring also. " Mah. Your dad's gonna be fine. You've spent two weeks over my house before he had a fuckin' fit, no worries! " Miyuki nodded, watching her friend grab a towel and head for the shower, singing a song that went sorta like "I'll kill those mother fuckas if they walk in on me. Gonna take a shower, so I don't feel nasty… it means no worries, as long as ya don't mess with me… " To the tune of the Lion King's A Kunamattata.  

            "I guess she's right, I shouldn't worry." The white haired girl turned from the phone and followed the other girl.

*           *           *           *           *

                Kurama sighed, pushing the eggs around the pan, not really paying attention to the cooking but more to what Koenma had told them after the girls had finally fallen asleep from exhaustion last night. 

            " So that's the story, this Marionette wants them for something, but we don't know what. Not to mention that he is unusually strong for an unregistered demon. " Kurama stated, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes. " I think it best if they are put under protective custody. " Koenma thought over this, his eyebrows pushing together making his toddler face almost comical in this position. 

            "No… I think you two should take care of them. They seem to be comfortable around you two, and haven't lost it thanks to your abilities. I think they would be most uncomfortable if they were transported to the Makai. Yes, I think you two should do this and give Yuusuke and Kuwabara a break for once. After all, Kuwabara is planning a wedding. I'll be sure that you'll be adequately provided for, the girls can't go home now can they. Don't worry; it won't be to hard… " 

            "THIS IS INSANE!! WHY ARE WE ASSIGNED TO THIS! I SHOULD JUS— " Hiei shouted, slamming his hands on the desk in front of him when he was cut off by the toddlers serious eyes.

            "If you do this, then I will wipe your records clean and you will be free from this job." Hiei was silenced immediately, and he sat down, his eyes wide and shocked. "But only if the two are not harmed, and this Marionette is removed, only then will your records be stricken." Both demons nodded, too shocked to respond as Koenma handed them a credit card with Chibi versions of themselves on it and shooed them out of the office. "Good luck!" He waved to them cheerfully, but Kurama could have sworn, as they were passing through the door, that he heard Koenma mumble something that sounded like, "You're gonna need it."

            "Kurama." Hiei's voice snapped Kurama out of his daze along with the smell of smoke, "Your eggs are burning." He pointed down at the pan and the kitsune's eyes followed, widening at the sight of a blackened substance steaming on the bottom of the pan.

            "AHH!" Kurama shouted, swinging around, almost hitting Hiei in the face with the hot pan, and throwing the mess into the full sink. It landed with a hiss and sank to the bottom under the bubbly water. Hiei snorted, a smirk on his face, as he watched the panting redhead put a hand to his heart and turn to him. "Why didn't you tell me BEFORE it started burning!"

"I was just walking by; I thought you'd like to know before you caught on fire too."

"Oh. Sorry, I was thinking. "

"About what Koenma said?"

"Yes…. Do you think that he's telling the truth? "

A shrug was his answer. "How am I supposed to know? I guess he was, why would he lie?"

"To keep us on his side, he might be afraid that we might drift to Marionette's side.  " Hiei froze and his cold red eyes examined the taller man carefully.

"Were you thinking about it?"

"About what Hiei?"

"Joining that bastard."

"NO! Of course not…. " Kurama pulled a chair out from the kitchen table and sat down on it backwards. " I just…. I just could smell fear on Koenma, he knows more then he lets on about Marionette, and he's very afraid. He's normally strait forward about what we have to do, but with this mission, strait from the beginning, he's been very vague. Like…like he doesn't want us to know what really is going on around these parts. I have a feeling that Marionette is stronger then even Koenma thinks he is. " 

"You sound afraid." 

"Not afraid, just wary, I have a bad feeling about this." Green eyes locked with red ones, pleading for him to understand. Hiei stiffened for a moment before relaxing and sighing. "Thanks." Kurama smiled, closing his amiably to which the fire demon snorted. 

"I would just love to continue this conversation but I have to pee." He swirled around and began to walk to the bathroom, but just as he turned around he saw Tatsu heading strait for the same place. "Hell no…. " He growled, glaring at the Chinese girl who happily glared back before taking off and running for the point of conflict at the same time Hiei chose to. 

"Tatsu!! Wait up! " Miyuki cried, chasing after her best friend, not looking out for where she was going and ran right into Hiei, both becoming tangled up on the floor allowing Tatsu to get to the bathroom first.

"MWAHAHAHAH!! DON'T WORRY MIYUKI! YOUR SACRIFICE ISN'T IN VAIN!! " SLAM! 

Tatsu locked the door behind her and kept laughing as she got into the shower. 

Kurama watched all this with wide eyes, wile Miyuki and Hiei attempted to get untangled, the demon growling about idiotic Ningen women and the girl apologizing like crazy. "This is going to be a very interesting mission." 

*           *           *           *           *

"I need to call Auntie Ami, she'll be very upset if I don't visit her, and if I am staying here, I need to get Onii-san's sword." Tatsu thought as she turned off the shower and stepped out onto the rug, grabbing a light blue towel and wrapping it around her form.

"NINGEN!! GET OUT OF THE BATHROOM NOW!! " Hiei's voice was strained, betraying his need to pee as he loudly banged on the door. The ebony haired girl smirked as she took a smaller towel and dried her long hair. 

"I'll get out only if we can go somewhere after we're all ready."

"FINE! JUST GET OUT!! " Tatsu grinned and threw open the door, smacking the fire demon in the face and allowed Miyuki to rush in and lock the door. 

"Thanks Hiei!" The blue-eyed girl said in a singsong voice before sauntering into the room she had slept in. 

"Damn you……. "

"I feel weird wearing your clothing." Miyuki stated, fidgeting in the red kimono that Kurama said would bring out her eyes. She and the rest of her new roommates were walking down the street of the city, she and Tatsu both wearing some of the guys clothing. The shorter of the two girls was up front, garbed in one of Hiei's tops and Kurama's bottoms since the aforementioned pants were too small for her, and was walking quickly. Kurama and Miyuki were walking side by side and Hiei lagged behind, trying not to seem like part of the group to the onlookers. 

"Ningen. How much longer to we get where we need to be? " Hiei asked loudly, crossing his arms in front of his chest and glaring at the back of Tatsu. 

"You know, we shouldn't go much further, where we are headed is just a bunch of run down apartments and slums. I don't think we should go there with two young women. " Kurama stated, looking at the map he held in his hands. This comment earned two equally deadly glares from the girls, and Tatsu gritted her teeth.

"I happen to LIVE in one of those run down apartments in the slums, THANK YOU VERY FUCKIN' MUCH!!"

"Sorry!" Kurama waved his hands in front of him, sweatdropping at his idiocy. "I didn't mean to be rude, I didn't know! I bet it's a very nice town; I can't wait to get there, let's go! " 

Kurama laughed slightly, speeding up his steps so that he was in front of even Tatsu. Miyuki blinked and sped up also, Hiei snorting and picking up his pace. Tatsu screwed up her face in determination and sped up enough to be back in front till they finally reached a blue run down building that had the name Ryuuzaki on the dilapidated door. Hiei and Kurama exchanged looks of disbelief, as Miyuki and Tatsu walked through the door.

"Auntie Ami!! Where's you be? "The Chinese girl shouted, walking through the ruined and cluttered kitchen. She blinked; the room seemed more destroyed then normal, glass shattered on the floor and signs of a struggle in the hallway. "Ami…" Tatsu hastened her step, Miyuki whispering her best friends name as she realized what Tatsu was thinking. 

"I sense death… " Kurama stated, his eyes wide as he followed the two. 

"AUNTIE AM—" Tatsu froze as she walked into the living room, her aunt was lying on the rug; the shag around her body was no longer brown but maroon and in the corner of the room lay a marionette doll. 

"No!" Miyuki gasped, gripping Kurama's arm and hiding her face in his shoulder. Hiei walked past the two and stared at the old woman on the rug, her gray hair matted in the back with dried blood, and her left hand reaching in the direction of the phone. 

"She's dead."

" … " Tatsu twitched, her ice blue eyes locked on the body, her hands so tightly fisted that blood was drawn as her nails bit into her palms. " He's going to die… " She growled, running to the mantle over the run down fireplace and grabbed an object wrapped in cloth. The wrap was thrown off, revealing a sword, the handle covered in dragon scales and gripped by a claw, a closed eye in the center where the blade hit the grip. 

"Tatsu… " Miyuki asked, reaching out for her friend, who just swatted her hand away. 

"Marionette! Where the hell are ya?! You want us; mess with us, not people who have nothing to do with this!!! HEY BASTARD!! CAN YOU HEAR ME!! " Tatsu shouted, tears welling up in her eyes. There was a creak from the corner of the room and the puppets eyes glowed; it's painted on smile widening into a sadistic smirk. Tatsu twitched, her pupils shrinking as the doll's cords became taunt and it stood up. The puppet was a rendition of Pinocchio only instead of being friendly; it sure as hell was evil. 

"I think you got his attention Tatsu!" Miyuki stated in a small voice, backing up as the Pinocchio began to shake and quickly grow, sending pieces of the building flying as it crashed through the dilapidated roof. "Run!"

"I am NOT getting killed by a giant Pinocchio!!! I swear to god that's the lamest death ever!! " Tatsu growled as she backed away, "_Well Auntie Ami, you always said that you'd rather be dead then deal with the world. Well ya got your wish!_ " The Chinese girl bit her lip, and gave a grin, "_I'm not going to be upset. I'll see you again some day…" That was the last she saw of the woman who had saved her from the streets when she was three, as the red eyes of the puppet locked on to her and her friends, it's smirk reaching ear to ear as it crushed the living room and then the front of the blue house in its chase. _

*           *           *           *           *  

"This is the lamest bad guy I have ever seen since that cop guy off of the pink panther cartoons!" Tatsu growled, twitching as Miyuki nodded, the puppet unceasingly chasing the four of them. 

            "Damn you ningen, if I didn't have to protect you I'd destroy that thing!! We've been running for 15 minutes!!!" Hiei shouted, unused to having to run from his enemies, he was not very happy about the current situation. 

            "I'll watch the girls, try and disable the thing!" Kurama ordered, and Hiei nodded, swirling around in his tracks. 

            "Fe Fi Fo Fum!! I'm gonna eat you mother fuckas!! " Tatsu mocked, and Miyuki laughed, gripping her sides in pain from the mirth. 

            "Owww!" She moaned, nearly doubling over from the pain, her feet moving on their own in their exhausting run. Hiei pulled out his sword and brought it across the puppet's chest, nearly cracking it in half as a wave of energy sent the fire demon flying. "Hiei-san!" Miyuki cried, running up to the dizzied man, trying to help him up.

            "Get off of me ningen!" He growled, smacking her hand away. Tatsu stopped by their side as Miyuki started yelling at Hiei about not having any manners at all and Hiei not caring at all. Kurama slid to a stop by their side, pulling a rose out from his hair and snapping out the rose whip. 

"We can't just stop, we have to keep going! "  He shouted, bringing the whip around the puppets legs, binding them tightly. He took hold of Tatsu's wrist and pulled her after him, hoping to all that was holy that Hiei would watch out for Miyuki. The Marionette stumbled on the vines, unbalancing it and sending it flying forward. Hiei and Miyuki still hadn't moved both to preoccupied with each other than the doll. 

"You ass! I try to help you and you just brush me off! "

"Baka Ningen, I don't need your help so back off before I take off your head! "

"Lemme go!!" Tatsu growled, pulling her arm out from Kurama's grasp, "Miyuki! "  She dashed back to where her friend was standing, "Get the fuck out of there!!!" She rushed past the two and unsheathed her brother's sword, holding it up in defense of the falling puppet. "Onii_-san, your sword better work like you told me it would." Kurama gasped and turned around, seeing his and Hiei's only chance of being released from work running to her death. _

"Tatsu!!"  The kitsune shouted, but stopped when a strange blue light began emanating from the sword in the Chinese girls hands. The Eye opened in the middle, a strange mix of blue and red, and locked on to the Pinocchio wanna-be. Tatsu watched with wide eyes as the sword wrenched free of her hold and with a flash cut the strings that held the puppet up. Hiei twitched a few times, unsure of what to expect from the now lax creature that was rumbling from the inside and with an uninteresting pop! It landed on the ground about the size of an acorn. Everyone just blinked; expecting the small doll to come to life again, for sure it wasn't over yet. But the sword landed right in the chest of the doll, splitting it in half and the aura surrounding the place went dead. 

"Holy fuck that was strange…. "

*           *           *           *           *           *

"That's it my lord?" One court member asked, wide-eyed and completely confused on Marionette's tactics. "I know it can't end like that!"

"It served its purpose, now the mothers will know what's going on and they must come out of hiding." The red eyes of the demon locked on to his minion, as he lifted the cup of wine to his lips, the image of Tatsu's older brother's sword on the screen in front of him.

*           *           *           *           *           *

"Lady, Tatsu's used the sword. " A young man with dark blue hair walked into the darkened room of a Chinese home, his eyes blue eyes, illuminating the small room. The woman gasped, pulling her cloth covered hand up to her mouth. 

_"It has started then. We must call her then. " The long black hair of the woman swayed as she lifted her self to her feet with the utmost grace, and walked through the wall to where the phone was and dialed a number she hoped she would never have had to use. _

_*           *           *           *           *           *           * _

"Owwwwwwwwwwwwwwww….." Tatsu wined, standing up from her work. She had changed the name Minomoru, the title on their small house that Kurama had rented since the apartment proved to be too small, and wrote all the last names of the inhabitancies on the mail box. It was messy and done with permanent marker but it would do for the time being. She moaned in pain as she turned around and forced her overworked legs to move up the walkway. She opened the door and closed it behind her, moaning again as she realized that she was going to have to climb stairs to reach her bedroom. "God damn mother fuckin' stairs!" She growled, hobbling into the dining room and sitting down on a chair. "Frickin' legs, crampin' up after a little running… " she leaned over and began massaging her legs, attempting to remove the pain from the limbs. 

"Are you ok Tatsu-chan?" Miyuki asked, walking past her thoroughly annoyed friend with a book and a bottle of bath bubbles in her hands. The Chinese girl nodded, glaring at the offending limbs as Miyuki noticed that Hiei wasn't around. "Hey, where's the idiot demon?"   

"Gloating because he didn't get to kill the puppet."

"Oh god! How could anyone be so full of himself? "

"Dunno….SHIT THAT HURTS!!!" Tatsu shouted and Miyuki laughed, walking off to take a stress relieving bath. 

"Tatsu?" After a few minutes of screams from the dining room, Kurama finally decided to check it out, starting to get worried. Tatsu was sitting in a chair; her knees pulled up to her face, making her look uncharacteristically childish. "Are you ok?"

"No." She growled, ice blue eyes locking on him with all the venom of eighty-two king cobras, her left hand massaging the muscles on her leg. He saw her wince as all the pain shot through her again. 

"Hn, you can't even be gentle to yourself can you."

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT IMPLYING?!" 

"NOTHING! Here just let me help you." He pulled at her leg and just ended up getting a face full of sock covered foot. 

"Pervert! Don't you even think about touching me!!!!!!"

"Don't be so full of yourself! I would never try that on you!! You're not my type. " Kurama flashed her a look of annoyance, tugging at her leg again and began loosening the abused muscles. Tatsu glared at him, and then looked off to the side, trying to ignore her instinct to take out her brother's sword and do to him what it did to Marionette's creature. "Just think of me as a roommate, or a brother."

"I hate my brothers and I don't really care for any of my former male roommates. There were reasons I lived with my aunt. "

"Well…..as a father then?" that was really stretching it. He was only in his twenties after all.

"My father's a dick."

"Is there anyone you DON'T dislike?"

"Miyuki….my aunt….that's about it!"

"What about your mother?" he couldn't understand how anyone could dislike their mothers. 

"………."

" Sorry. Didn't know that that was a sore topic. " He put one leg down and quickly finished the other, embarrassed for asking such a question. " Tatsu? "

"………."

"Tatsu I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be mean, don't start ignoring me now. "

"……."

"For Christ's sake Ta-"

"SNOREEEEEEEEE" Kurama had to stifle a laugh as Tatsu started to snore softly, put to sleep from the massage. He smiled and picked the girl up, once again amazed at how such a small child could make her self seem so awful and big. He quietly walked up the stairs, passing by where Hiei was resting in a tree. He gave the kitsune a strange look and Kurama shook his head, walking into Tatsu's room, that was already trashed thank you very much, and setting her down in bed. He then headed to Hiei's side, sitting down on the window sill. 

"_For some reason, I have a feeling that this job is going to get much more complicated…"_

_(_End of chapter 3_)_

Author's Note: Hi there minna-san. We're really, **really** sorry that it's taken so long for us to update this sucker. Several circumstances as of late, with the addition of Writer's Block, have kept us from getting any writing done. Sorry again minna. Well, we're both dying of heat exhaustion and sleep deprivation, so no omake/theories right now. We'll try to update the next chapter more quickly. Until then, read and review, please. 


	4. Chapter Four:When Your Mother’s a Psycho

As Heaven is Wide

(Warning: Don't eat while reading this chapter. It does become rather gory.)

Chapter 4: When Your Mother's a Psycho Don't Invite People Over….

            With a worried sigh, the white haired woman scurried over to the phone booth, her green eyes scanning the gas station for any signs of danger before closing the door behind her. With a shaky hand, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a light green phone card, sliding it into the phone, biting her lip as she dialed in a number that she had hoped to never use. The phone rung once, twice, three times before a matured and silky voice answered, causing her to jump.

             "Wei?"

"Lian?" The white haired woman whispered, "Is that you?" There was a gasp from the other side of the phone and instantly the speaker switched from Chinese to Japanese. 

            "What are you calling me for, Kaori? The line could be bugged. You do know that Tatsu has used the sword, and that means it's starting! " Lian hissed into the receiver of her phone, her own blue eyes darting around the darkened room, looking for her husband. 

            "I-I I think we should meet!" She stated insistently, then held her breath in anticipation of her response. There was a long pause that was starting to grate on the older woman's nerves. 

            "You sure that you want to risk it, Kaori? All that we have done, and put the girls through, you sure you want to risk that all for a meeting."

            "We should meet…with them I mean. "

            "WHAT!!" Kaori winced at the intensity of the remark, and all at once, regretted saying it. "MEET WITH THEM?! I LET MY BABY GET SENT TO JAPAN WHEN SHE WAS THREE AND BECOME WHAT SHE IS NOW TO KEEP HER SAFE AND NOW YOU JUST WANT ME TO SAY 'WHAT THE HELL! LETS GO VISIT'?!??" She dropped into a stream of Chinese curses that would make her daughter proud, and make poor Kaori's mind over load.

            "Listen to me! They are already in danger, so I say that you and Yuu get over here as quickly as you can, because I am only ten miles out of town and I am going to see Miyuki. I'll be waiting for you!" Kaori hung up the phone with a determined clack. She stepped out of the phone booth, feeling much more courageous then when she had stepped in, her eyes focused on the city of Kyoto.

*           *            *            *            *

            "Eh?"

            Miyuki paused, her fingertips brushing a doorknob, body turning towards the path behind her, eyes staring up at the swaying trees. For a moment she stood in utter silence, listening only to the sound of the breeze pushing leaves against one another in an almost hypnotic sway. When the girl turned back towards her own front door, the feeling that someone was watching her would not leave.

            "That's odd. I swore I heard someone a second ago."

            Shaking her head at her own silly indiscretion, Miyuki stepped on to the doormat, once again pausing as her hand encased the tarnished doorknob. It had been several days since she and Tatsu had fallen in to the care of Kurama and Hiei. During that slightly short phase she had intently awaited a telephone call from her father. She feared how he would react to the state of their yard and jeep, as well as her own unexplained disappearance. Her father had never been a very even-tempered sort of fellow, so any anger he had would be well warranted if not highly frightening. However, even though she'd left a phone number for him to call and several messages on their answering machine, no reply had been made. That alone made her worry increasingly as each day past until the apprehension could no longer be ignored. 

            The young woman briefly massaged her temples, hating her own fear of facing her more then likely enraged, if not worried, father. She'd wanted to see him alone, being as bringing Hiei or Kurama would only anger him further, but at that moment she secretly wished that she'd brought someone with her. Something felt slightly amiss to her, as if danger awaited her behind the closed door that had nothing to do with a pissed off parent. Finally, holding her breath, Miyuki stepped inside.

            It was quiet, almost to the point of being eerily quiet. Rather then call out for her father, Miyuki entered the threshold in silence, removing her boots and replacing them with her house slippers without uttering a word. Her footsteps barely resounded due to the soft cushion of her slippers, silence still filling the air about her. It smelled rather musty inside, which was odd in itself being as Mrs. Furikomu was rather much a neat freak, always insisting that all of her family members kept their abode tidy whilst she was away. Dismissing the stale scent of the air, Miyuki poked her head in to the kitchen, blinking once and then twice as she strode over to the counter beside the refrigerator, picking up the note she'd left for her father the night she and Tatsu had first encountered Marionette. It hadn't been moved at all. The girl opened the fridge, shivering slightly due to the chilled air, staring at the sight of the untouched dinner she'd left for her father. 

            Worry having taken over caution, Miyuki found herself rushing upstairs, calling out for her father in a shrill, frightened voice. It seemed like it took her forever to reach the end of the upstairs hallway, where her parent's bedroom awaited her. She threw open the door without bothering to knock as she usually did, the doorknob slamming against the wall as she stopped only two strides in to the room. The sight the greeted her was not at all pleasant.

            Bed sheets and blankets were mangled and torn apart above a mattress tainted with blood, feathers clinging to the tattered blankets as they did to the ceiling where splatters of crimson fluid still dripped down. The walls, once cream colored, were now painted red, decorative knickknacks replaced with fragments of fleshy organs. The smell of rotted tissue suffocated Miyuki, making her feel as if she'd just stepped right in to a horror movie. Her breath hitched in her chest and for a moment she could hear nothing, but her own rapid heartbeat before her shocked control snapped, her feet carrying her in to her parent's bathroom. 

            Again she paused, eyes widening at the sight of intestinal tendrils hanging from the pole that once held a shower curtain, the bathtub filled to the brim with blood. The mirror was splotched with bloody handprints, the sink littered with ruby teeth and matted clumps of dark hair. Unable to hold it in any longer, uncaring of the bloody mess about her, Miyuki bent over at the waist and retched upon the already messy floor, walking on shaking legs out of the room once her stomach was again empty, falling to her knees in the clean hallway, taking in rapid breaths, willing herself to move; to get up and run. 

            And that was just what she did. Fear fueling her, Miyuki ran out of her house, pulling on her boots as she moved, slamming the front door closed behind her. She pushed through crowds without any care towards her rudeness, her feet bringing her quickly away from the nightmare that had once been her home. Her hands fumbled for a moment with the doorknob, the door swinging open once the obstacle was out of the young woman's way. 

            "Tatsu-san! Kurama-san!" she called out, rushing in to the living room of the house they all shared, eyes searching widely for one of the two individuals that she sought. "Tatsu-san!"

            "Stop your screeching, human. She won't hear you."

            Miyuki turned around, startled by the unexpected voice and presence of Hiei. The darkly clad fire demon eyed the young woman, one eyebrow arching visibly. Her hair was disheveled, falling out of the loose ponytail she'd pulled it in to, her breath hitching, and her cheeks flushed with exertion. What stood out to him most of all was her eyes. They were wide with fear that he had not yet seen expressed by the girl, not even when they had faced Marionette for the first time. He could also see that she was slightly uneasy with him, some visible mortification within her eyes, making it obvious that she did not want him to see her alarm. After they'd argued when Marionette's puppet attacked few words were shared between them, both too angry to speak with one another. Naturally she wouldn't want a 'jackass who doesn't know when he needs help' to be her only source of aid. 

            "Where is Tatsu-san?" she asked, her voice slightly hushed with fatigue.

            "Kurama took that obnoxious human you address as a friend to buy clothing."

            Hiei strode over to her, his crimson eyes boring in to her fearful emerald irises. 

            "Why are you so frightened, human?"

*           *            *            *            *

            "Owowowowowowowowow!! FUCK!!" exclaimed the ever verbal Ryuuzaki Tatsu, unable to perform a typical reflexive action of grabbing her injured foot and hopping about on the opposite one.

            Kurama, who at the time ran beside her, had to wonder just how the both of them had ended up in such a situation. He glanced at his supposed 'partner in crime' as she gritted her teeth against the pain of having rough gravel scrap against the defenseless bottoms of her bare feet, trying his best to ignore the fact that, not only were Tatsu's hands captured within the clutches of a now stray pair of handcuffs, but that they both had a decently large, angry cop to run away from.

            "This is all yer fault, Kurama!!"

            "**My** fault?!" the red-haired Kitsune asked, expression clearly shocked at the implication that their current toil was of his doing. "How is this my fault?!"

            "If ya hadn't tried ta grope me, ya fuckin' letch, none of this woulda started!"

            "Grope you?! I was trying to stop you from hitting the ground after **you** tripped!"

            "I did **not** trip, ya damned horny bastard, and ya grabbed my ass!!"

            "I DID NOT!!!!"

            Face flaming due to the presumptuous remark, Kurama cast Tatsu a sideways glare, all the while telling himself that he was not at fault and that the girl was just trying to deny making an error as she always did. If she'd just allowed him to help her rather then scream and cause a scene then they would never have caught the attention of a police officer, he never would have been called 'a fat oinker who needs to pull up his bloody pants', and thus the current situation never would have never come about.

            "Its yer damn fault that I lost my shoes!"

            "**My** fault?! You're the one who kicked him in the face after he handcuffed you and then lost the other shoe trying to run away! "

            And their argument resumed, both too occupied with the police officer lumbering after them to even think that something was amiss elsewhere.

*           *            *            *            *

            Hiei did not like loud noises. He preferred quiet, tranquil places, areas that were so very different from the way he thought, the way he felt. He disliked human females who so often lost their composure, letting their fear get the best of them, allowing others to see their obvious weakness. Miyuki clung to him, her fright evident as he jumped from tall office building to tall office building, and time and time again she would make a soft noise, similar to a squeal, in the back of her throat. Her pale hair blew about the both of them and he could feel her warm breath fanning over the skin of his neck where her face was pressed, eyes clenched shut. Typically Hiei would not put up with such behavior in his company and he might have been tempted to let her fall, but he would not. She was, though he hated to admit it, his responsibility and in a way his path to freedom. They might have been at their destination by then, for he was incredibly fast, but at that moment he took a longer, slower route simply to hear the girl squeal. They sound bore down on his nerves, but it amused him to scare her a little, she who tried to hard to be brave. That aside, he did owe her a little payback for her senseless screaming at him for refusing her aid. Even he deserved some fun.

            Miyuki screamed loudly as their bodies plunged down through the air, Hiei having leapt from one tall build to a shorter one, the wall unexpected and quite frightening to one who disliked heights. She gripped firmly on to him again and pulled her face away from his neck, glaring at him with a fire in her green eyes, her ire enough to frighten a normal man, which he was not. 

            "I swear your trying to scare me on purpose! I know damn well that we could have been there by now, but you're purposefully taking your time!" 

            "Hm. It appears that you aren't as idiotic as I first thought!" Hiei shouted back over the sound of rushing wind, smirking devilishly. 

            "You jerk! Ahhh!" 

Miyuki's angry words were halted as their bodies jolted upward, Hiei holding back a laugh as he literally ran up the side of an office building. Workers inside stared in confusion at the black and white blur that rushed past the windows, wondering what on earth they had seen. Miyuki pressed her face against the soft white fabric of the fire demon's collar, closing her eyes again, willing herself not to scream and further amuse her almost rival. Hiei stared for a moment at the top of her head, still grinning, almost wanting to thank the girl for giving him a good laugh, which he'd not had in some time. That would further anger her too. He chose, however, not to further press the girl's rage, knowing fully well that more important matters lay at hand to be taken care of and he held on to Miyuki with one strong arm, quickening his flight. 

The girl felt solid ground suddenly beneath her feet and she slowly drew back from Hiei as her feet supported her again, looking over her shoulder to see the open doorway of her home, leading in to darkness. The feeling of dread and fear washed over her again, followed by the memory of sickening, bloody images. She let go of Hiei and stood fully, towering a head or two above the short statured demon as ever she did, her anger fading in to caution, a fist clenching at her side. Hiei released her only moments afterward, striding in to the threshold without a sound, his footfalls ever strong. He paused in the doorway and looked over his shoulder at her, the look in his eyes obviously questioning whether or not she chose to follow or not. Miyuki gathered her courage and did indeed follow, brushing past him, her skin growing as cold as her heart felt then. 

Her footfalls slowed slightly once the two of them reached the upstairs bedroom, coming to stop just before the doorway. Hiei paused along side her, looking over at the girl, clearly able to see that what lay behind the closed door was a sight that greatly disturbed her, one that had caused her eyes to hold such fear as he'd never before seen upon her. He understood her desire to stay back, her hesitation in opening the door, and quickly he looked away from her. The door opened against the pressure of his pushing hand and Miyuki wrapped her arms around herself, biting on to her bottom lip while the eyes of Hiei darkened to a deep ruby color, all because of the sight before them. Even he admitted that the display was gruesome, enough to make a grown man vomit, blood everywhere, covering everything he saw. It was disgusting and unnecessary in his opinion. Marionette certainly wanted to make a point that he was a force to be reckoned with and he showed so without any apparent remorse. Hiei stepped within the bedroom, scowling slightly as blood coated the bottoms of his black boots, his feet squishing against the bloody carpet. Behind him Miyuki leaned her back against the wooden pane of the doorway, biting her bottom lip until blood began to lightly come forth, a coppery taste in her mouth, and yet her eyes were dry, no more tears yet shed despite her growing sorrow. It was obvious to both she and Hiei. Furikomu Katsuhiro was dead. 

Something caught the trained eyes of Hiei, drawing him to step towards the bed, where upon the mattress, painted in red letters, were words, perhaps of threat or warning.

_Surprise…_

Hiei clenched his teeth, baring fangs at the one word, and he drew his sword from the sheath at his hip, growling as his sliced the bed completely in half, rupturing the message. Eyes flaming he resheathed his blade, feeling that even he was disgusted by actions so severe. He turned around, looking back again at Miyuki, who at some point had ventured within the room and obviously had seen the message, for her eyes were burning beneath a furrowed brow, creased and glowing with uncaged anger. She turned away from him, facing a wall, her eyes watching as a few tiny rivers slide down the once white surface. Unable to contain herself any longer, Miyuki let out a shout of rage and her fist sailed forward, breaking clearly through the wall before her, knuckles then bloody due to the blow and the blood that had already been present.

"Baka yarou…Marionette…I swear I'll make him pay for this…"

Hiei watched her and almost felt remorse deep down in his heart, pity for the loss that she now felt, though he wouldn't show it, express it in any way. It was not how he normally acted, showing pity, showing concern for a simple weak human. 

"Will you? If given the chance, could one such as you ever bring yourself to kill him?"

"I don't know…I've never taken a life…never thought of taking a life…but this…this makes me sick…Its unforgivable. If he had some reason to attack me then he could have done so…I don't care if he hurts me…My father had nothing to do with this…He never hurt anyone! He didn't deserve this!"

Miyuki rounded on Hiei and he could see unshed tears in her enraged eyes, knew that she held them back, tried to be brave. She didn't want to be weak, not simply because she didn't want him to feel superior, but because she didn't want to be a weakling, not after what had happened to her father, not if revenge was what she now had to obtain. Words were lost on him, words that were needed to be said to sooth her gone from Hiei's lips, for he wasn't one to comfort. He left such things to the devices of Kurama, who held strength in such matters of the heart. Instead of saying anything to comfort her, Hiei scooped the girl up off of her now shaking feet and took her home. Her new home at least. Miyuki said nothing, didn't question these actions, which almost seemed tender coming from the cold fire demon, and she let herself lean fully against his form as he carried her back, as if in defeat. 

Hiei placed her upon the bed she shared with Tatsu and left her alone, closing the bedroom door behind him, leaving the girl to lay alone in the darkened room. The dam within her burst apart once she was alone and the tears came, Miyuki unable to contain them as she curled up in to a ball and cried. Hiei leaned against the door, listening to the sound of the almost fragile young woman's sorrow, his expression blank. He stood there for what felt akin to hours until the front door opened, revealing a very bedraggled Chinese girl and Kitsune, who'd suffered through events that could only be imagined. As soon as the two closed the door behind them, Tatsu griping colorfully to the red-haired Kurama, who ignored her typical complaints and set their many shopping bags down upon the threshold. The two fell in to silence, Tatsu more slowly, both looking upon the face of Hiei, seeing something more then just his typical stony expression. There was something dire, almost angry behind it. The short fire demon stepped towards the pair; turning his eyes upon Tatsu, gaze almost commanding.

"Your friend needs you. Her tears haven't stopped for some time now."

"Cryin'?! What th' hell did ya do ta Miyuki, ya little asshole?!" Tatsu bellowed, shaking her fist before his face.

"Her pain is no cause of my actions. Are you just going to stand there and uselessly threaten me or will you take care of your friend?"

"You'd better explain ta me what th' hell is goin' on later, Shortie!" Tatsu said behind one last growl before she quickly rushed in to the bedroom, intent on caring for the still sobbing Miyuki.

"What happened, Hiei?" Kurama asked, his eyes full of confused inquisition, sensing that something very bad had happened.

"Miyuki's father is dead. We found his remains at her home along with a message left by Marionette. The bastard certainly has a disgusting sense of humor."

"God…"

Kurama felt unable to say anymore, his expression almost horrified, and he could only imagine how the sight had affected Miyuki. Silence fell between the two demons, leaving both to wonder what Marionette had planned. Why kill Miyuki's father and Tatsu's aunt if they appeared to be after the girls? Kurama could only guess that their enemy wanted to draw the girls out by playing on their emotions, using their loved ones and sorrow against them. If his plan worked, it would be their downfall, but luckily they had two Rekai Tantei to protect them. Neither would allow any harm to come to them. 

A knock sounded, unexpectedly, upon the front door. Kurama looked down at Hiei who in turn looked up at him. Neither had expected anyone to come by and thusly had no idea who would suddenly knock upon their door. They doubted that Koenma had sent Yusuke or Kuwabara to aid them and Kurama had not ordered out for bento of any kind, being as they had Miyuki to do the cooking, so no plausible ideas came to them. Their best guess was that it could be a possible threat and so, as Kurama strode towards the door and placed his hand upon the knob, Hiei let his hand fall to the hilt of his sword, waiting. The door then opened. 

A woman stood there, one with bright blue eyes and pale white hair, pulled back in to a conservative ponytail at the base of her neck. Her clothing was casual and rather feminine, giving her an unthreatening guise. It was her expression that worried them, for her mouth was pulled back in to a firm frown and her eyes glared upon them icily, almost angrily. 

"Where is Miyuki?" she asked, voice soft and somewhat cold. 

"It depends on who wants to know," Kurama replied, just as coldly. 

The odd woman stared long and hard at Kurama, her gaze boring in to him almost fiercely until an unanticipated smile worked its way in to position upon her face, demolishing her previous harsh demeanor. She looked sweeter that way, not at all threatening. What reason, though, did she have to smile after having seemed so cruel, so much like a possible enemy? Who was she?

"You're more cautious then I thought you would be. It's a relief to know that my girls have been in good hands. Now, I doubt you'll believe me, but I am on your side. I came here to see my daughter. Now will you step aside and let me see her?"

"Daughter?" 

Kurama looked the woman over again and sure enough he saw the resemblance that she shared with Miyuki. Her personality as well matched that of the quiet young woman unless this woman was a good actor. There still existed a chance that she could be one of Marionette's puppets and so the two demons stood their ground, thus far refusing to give in. They would not expose Tatsu or Miyuki to any more possible harm.

"Now, I want to see my daughter. Will you let me get by?" 

"I think not," Kurama told her, his voice soft and as cold as a winter breeze. Caution would not evade him.

"All right then. I'll just have to take drastic measures…" The woman paused and took a deep breath, her eyes closing amiably before… "…MIYUKI!!!"

Both Kurama and Hiei threw their hands over their ears, trying to block out the loud, shrill scream issuing from the once calm woman standing opposite them. Her plan appeared to work well enough, however, for just after her voice sounded the figures of an annoyed Tatsu and a tear-stained Miyuki appeared, confusion written amongst the other present emotions on their faces. Their appearance then marked the end of that shrill cry and the pale blue eyes of this strange woman locked on Miyuki, tears streaming emotionally down her cheeks.

"M-Mama?" Miyuki asked hesitantly, as if the wetness rimming her eyes might somehow be making her see a false vision of hope.

"Mi-Yu-Ki-CHAN!!!!" the revealed Mrs. Furikomu cried as she all but shoved poor Hiei and Kurama out of her path, embracing her daughter after she'd rushed over to her, sobbing happily. "Miyuki-chan! My sweet, beautiful Miyuki-chan is safe. But why? Why are you crying? What happened to my poor Miyuki-chan?!"

"M-Mother, please calm down. I'm all right," Miyuki said, her voice almost sounding urgent as her tears halted, an obvious indication that she'd had to calm her often hysterical mother many times before. 

"Did someone hurt you, Miyuki-chan?! Did you get a bad score on a test?! No, my Miyuki never scores badly on a test! What happened!?!"

"Jeez. Calm down, Kaori-san!" 

The woman now known as Kaori halted her tears in an instant, Tatsu's voice having seemed to strike a nerve of some sort. Hiei and Kurama watched the display, almost fearfully, as tick-by-tick Kaori's head turned towards the raven-haired girl, oh so slowly, stopping fully upon her with a loud DING noise.

"Taaaaatsuuuuu…." 

"Eh? Oh shit…" Tatsu mumbled, expression actually scared for the first time either demon had ever seen before.

"TATSU-CHAN!! Tatsu-chan, how I missed you!! Has Miyuki-chan been taking good care of you?! How is Aunt Ami?! Have you taken a bath this week?! Poor, beautiful Tatsu-chan!!"

Kaori all, but strangled Tatsu in a 'warm' embrace of love, affection, and paranoia. The poor girl seemed to want to get away without hurting the obviously emotional woman's feelings and apparently she was fighting a losing battle. Hiei seemed to find the foul-mouthed teenager's plight amusing and thusly let out a snort of laughter, much to his later dismay. Kaori's head seemed to turn around completely as she glared flames at him, having well enough heard his noise of amusement. In the blink of an eye she was no longer embracing Tatsu, but holding the short demon's head between her hands, forcing his line of vision upon the rather disheveled young women. 

"You laugh?! You don't think Tatsu-chan is beautiful?! Look at them! LOOOOOOOOK! They're gorgeous!" Kaori cried from behind him, one eye twitching insanely.

"Kurama…get this mad woman off of me…" Hiei said, a crazed look coming across his face as he held up his sword, which glinted dangerously. "I'm going to kill her."

Before Hiei could even think of really slaughtering the woman he found his face greeting the hard wooden floor, for Mrs. Furikomu had all, but plowed him down again in her rush to return to her daughter and friend. 

"Now both of you please tell me what's been going on since I left. Miyuki-chan, your eyes and cheeks are red. Have you been crying, Sweetheart?"

Kaori suddenly returned to the previously calm, composed woman she'd been earlier, her voice soft and filled with concern as she wiped a stray tear from her daughter's eye with her thumb. Tatsu allowed mother and daughter to converse, though she worried how explanations would emotionally upset her friend and she pondered how a woman could change so drastically in personality over the span of a few short minutes. All seemed oblivious to the enraged fire demon who seemed to hover in the air, his legs and arms flapping as wildly as his sword slashed towards Kaori's back, his attack missing target thanks to Kurama, who held the back of his short comrades shirt, one hand pressed over his eyes.

"Miyuki-chan, what happened?" Kaori saw the pain written on her daughter's face and understood where it came from. "It was Marionette, wasn't it?"

All heads shot up at this remark and even Hiei calmed his ire enough to stare in shock at the white-haired woman. How was it that she knew of their enemy? Tatsu opened her mouth and then closed it, doing this at least three times before she realized, for perhaps the first time in her life, she didn't know what to say or what question to ask. The only person who seemed to have any idea of what to say or do was Miyuki, who solemnly nodded her head, one hand pressed against her heart. Her eyes were dark at the thought of the demon that had taken the life of Tatsu's aunt and viciously slain her father. How did her mother know of him?  

"You're all confused. I can see that. I don't know why you've been crying Miyuki, but for now I want you to rest. All of you. It is getting late and I myself am tired from the long drive I've just taken. I'll explain everything that I know to all of you in the morning."

Tatsu, for once, did as she was told and placed her hands upon Miyuki's slumped shoulders, guiding the still emotionally distraught girl in to their bedroom, closing the door behind them. Kaori turned her attention to Kurama and asked for him to help her set up a bed on the couch where she might sleep. Hiei seemed to understand that he would receive no explaination that night and even then he didn't feel like forcing any knowledge out of the insane woman, so he took leave of the others and went to rest as comfortably as possibly upon the branch of the tree sitting outside the girl's bedroom window, sword clutched in his hand. Kurama could handle the odd woman then. 

The darkly clothed fire demon glanced over his shoulder at the dark window, his view of the room blocked by drawn curtains. He saw no light filtering through the fabric and knew that the girls had indeed turned in. Unsure of why he felt the sudden need to do so, Hiei removed the cloth about his forehead, revealing the Jagen, his third eye. The pupil and iris seemed to glow as Hiei saw what he needed to see; Miyuki lying in her bed, curled in to a fetal position with blankets over her head, sobbing softly, tears streaming still down her cheeks. The image faded and Hiei made a noise of disgust with himself, wondering just why he cared for the human girl's pain. The bandana was replaced, the Jagen hidden, and the nightly watch began.

End of Chapter 4

To everyone who reads this story, we are incredibly sorry for the lack of updating. We will try to remedy such a horrid circumstance as well as we can. 

Review Responses:

Kasey: Thank you for reading and reviewing As Heaven is Wide, Kazey-san.

Utena: *gives her hugs and cookies*

Sami: Hiei…and Tatsu? Uhm…we had planned on pairings, but Hiei and Tatsu….ehehehe…

Utena: ^^;;; Uhm….

Hiei and Tatsu: *GLARE at each other*

Kurama and Miyuki: *Heavy sighs*

Sami: No. Not Hiei and Tatsu. Sorry. 

Utena: But Hiei-san will be paired with an OC character.

Hiei: Hmp. Like I'd have anything to do with that weak ningen baka…

Miyuki: *Twitches* Weak ningen baka…*TWITCH* Pardon me, everyone. *Bows to the readers before thusly attacking Hiei with his own katana*

TalieZ: worry not, Talie-san. We shall continue this mad and crazy adventure of fanfictional proportions!

Sami and Utena: *Cue dramatic/determined poses*

Lillian Claire: We updated, Lillian-san. Sorry for the incredibly long wait. Bet you're about read to kill us. *Nervous grins* Its nice to know that Miyuki and Tatsu aren't like Mary Sues. Yes, Tatsu's lovely tendency to swear every other word is what greatly amuses us. She's incredibly fun to work with. Hope this chapter was satisfactory.

Winter Peacecraft-Yuy: Here's the new chapter. Please, don't kill us. *Apologetic bows* We agree about Tatsu. She and Miyuki both just took their own personalities, as if all on their own. Tatsu makes us laugh until tears spring forth from our eyes. We kid you not. Uhm…Lemon…

Utena: *Blush* We'll we have written 'Special Secret Chapters', but they wouldn't take place until after the end of the story. We're not sure if we'd even post them.

Sami: Yeah. *Blush*

Kurama: *Slight blush as he coughs in to his hand*

Miyuki: *Looks down at her feet as she blushes uncomfortably*

Tatsu: *Face is a little red, but she is too busy laughing at Hiei to care much*

Hiei: *Sits on the floor, rubbing his bruised cheek, muttering to himself about 'two over emotional ningen women*


End file.
